Resident Evil: Underworld

Disclaimer: I have FINALLY beaten Resident Evil 5. (My birthday present. Yay me!) After I had beaten the game, this idea came to me in a combination of watching a few sci-fi movies. (Channel flipping when bored does that). Now this is an idea I'm experimenting with and I will be playing around with plotlines a little bit. (Taking place between Code Veronica and Resident Evil 5. So if I get some facts wrong, let me know and I'll fix them to the best of my ability. The title I got came from the novel title written by S.D. Perry in 1999. Like I said, if you see anything not particularly correct, don't hesitate to let me know and I'll fix it up. Oh, and also, there will be various lines from games and films to establish the order I will attempt to maintain. I will accredit each one accordingly.

"Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows."

-Pope Paul VI

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world"

-C.S. Lewis

By: VampireQueenAkasha

"A new Genesis is at hand, and I will be the creator!"

-Albert Wesker, Resident Evil 5

Chapter 3-2: The Fall of Umbrella

London

The doctor struggled in his chair, cursing and swearing. He swayed back and forth, a poor attempt to dislodge himself from his restraints. Claire was going through his computer files, fingers tentatively working the mouse pad in the center of the small console. She pulled up smaller files of various donors and victims that the doctor had been responsible for. Meanwhile, Kirk was going through his coat to find some form of ID. The doctor refused to give his name, despite all efforts pitted against him.

"So ... Doctor Gregory Cameron, that's your name, isn't it?" Kirk said, reading the ID tag aloud, "Says here your an organ donor." He grinned and laughed mockingly, "Well, ain't that just ironic."

The doctor - Gregory Cameron scowled at him. "You can't do this." he hissed.

Kirk leaned forward and put one hand on the table before Cameron. "Hey ... Blow me, asshole." he said, angrily, "Since your pet bitch is out there running around, we can do whatever we damn well please, if it means keeping the world from dying on us."

Claire ignored the skirmish between the two, reading a few files to herself.

T - JCCC203 was one of the first primitive viral strains administered to a 63 year old male named Doug Frost who had been infected with cancer. Claire would have smiled as she read how it cured him. Until he died hours later. That was a shame. A man who could have been cured of a life-death illness had died anyway. She met Cameron's eyes with brooding anger. How could he take so many lives and sit there as if nothing was wrong?

Claire scrolled down the list of viral strains that had failed in various attempts. Combinations that had become virtually unstable and killed their hosts in mere hours. Then, she stopped at an unnamed viral strain simply listed as SUB - G COMPOUND t - CCC312. A bizarre name for an unheard of bacterium. She glanced up at Cameron and furrowed her brows.

"Cameron, what is this SUB - G compound?" she asked.

Cameron brightened and leaned back. "Ahh, a masterpiece of Umbrella research!" he sighed, longing in his voice, "I spent my life working on the beauty of my virus."

Kirk held his handgun up almost menacingly. "What does your miracle crap do, anyway?" he asked, irritated with Cameron's worshiping tone of voice.

Cameron could only grin. "SUB - G was a peculiar virus I discovered while on a dig in China," he told them, "I had been exploring some ruins until I stumbled upon a large cave." He chuckled. "Ahh, and you can imagine my surprise when I discovered an antechamber leading toward a very peculiar sight."

Kirk and Claire glanced at each other, a little tuned into his story despite all other things.

"I came upon a room that had obviously not been explored in centuries. There were several artifacts that held no interest to me," Cameron continued, "But rather, the stones there."

Claire tilted her head. "Stones?"

Cameron grinned at her. "Yes, stones," he replied, "Or rather, composites of amber and fossils. I had never seen such fossils before." He raised a brow and shrugged his shoulders. "Unfortunately, the locals were not too thrilled with the way I had trespassed into their precious ancestor's burial grounds. They claimed that I would awaken the Moweng, whatever that was."

"And you killed them, didn't you?" Claire said, stunned.

Cameron chuckled. "No, madam, that would be no fun at all." He gestured to his computer with a flick of his head. "Click on the viral strand and you'll see what I mean. Date 1977. China."

Claire wasn't sure if she even wanted to see what his idea of 'fun' was. But nonetheless, she had to know as much as she could about what they were up against. She did as he instructed on the computer and a small video clip popped up. She pressed play and it began to play a poorly recorded video of several Chinese men bound and gagged. They were screaming and thrashing against their confines as Cameron on screen administered an injection to them.

"Gentleman, be proud!" he shouted, "You will be my first test subjects! You will become greater than your previous selves!"

The men in gags struggled and whimpered wildly against their restraints.

Cameron sighed, shaking his head. "Only afterwards did I realize that the new bacterium was highly toxic to the human nervous system," he continued, "Many upon many subjects died within mere minutes of receiving the injection."

Claire shrugged. "So what did you do?"

Cameron smiled. "I met up with Dr. William Birkin and offered my research to him. He was very excited about it and planned on the two of us working side - by - side to create a new bio-weapon to counter all bio-weapons." He inhaled sharply. "Unfortunately, Mr. Birkin did not like competition as well as the next doctor. We got into a bit of a ... how do you say ... skirmish. He went crazed and," He tilted his head back, revealing a large, wicked scar trailing down his neck."

Kirk and Claire reacted slightly to the knowledge.

Cameron smiled. "But the fool did not realize that I still happened to have the codes to his storage units. I ... claimed what was rightfully mine and left the laboratory, perhaps to combine his research with my own." He grinned. "Poor fool would have been so angry with me."

Kirk sighed and rolled his eyes. "Get to the point, you're already boring the shit out of me."

Camerona flashed him a mocking smile, obviously a means to taunt the BSAA member, but nonetheless, he straightened in his chair and cleared his throat. "Well, after the success of our dear Albert Wesker, we decided to test the new viral agent on a more suitable figure. A figure who could possibly give life to the next ... evolved generation. A woman."

Claire frowned. "So that's when you decided to take her from her mother ... "

"Oh, you make it sound so evil, Claire Redfield," Cameron laughed, "But in truth, we gave her a greater purpose. Were we failed ... we required a someone still growing. Someone young who could adapt to the virus. And you can guess that the child's mother did not take kindly to that. Such a shame, too. She was one of the best doctors we hand. She displayed above - average intelligence that very few doctors were capable of. We injected the infant with the virus shortly after her mother was taken care of.

Our little Project had developed rapidly. There were little signs of mutations, which concerned many of us. We were not entirely certain if the virus still lived dormant inside her or if by some uncanny force had died during injection. So as she grew, we kept close watch over her. She exhibited peculiar behavior around others, a need to dominate perhaps. Even at a youthful age, she was able to perform calculations and break codes that would take an average human years to do."

Claire glanced down and brought up a folder's contents in the computer database. There were several videos and she clicked on one. A small clip of Elizabeth appeared, a small child. She looked to be about 12 years old. She was screaming and staring down at her hands. The wrists there were spitting blood. Cameron rushed for her on screen as well as many doctors.

"Stop it!" Elizabeth wailed, "Make it stop! It's hurts!"

With a fierce wail, she pushed her hands against a doctor's chest, sending him flying through the air. She issued the same treatment to the others who rushed in to calm her down. They crumbled to the floor in groaning heaps. Cameron sat up with a weak groan and lifted his head to look toward Elizabeth. She was curled up in a corner, sniffling weakly. There was a small pool of blood beneath her feet and small, slithering tendrils that lead a trail up to her wrists.

Cameron continued laying there, stunned.

O

Kirk blinked at the scene, stupefied and a little more than disgusted. "Well, what will they think of next, and why the hell did they think of this?" he said, lowly.

Cameron chuckled as Claire reviewed several more files. "You don't understand the complexity that is Elizabeth!" he exclaimed, "She has grace, power, an intellect far above anything that exists here on Earth! She is a force of nature. A goddess who will lead us into Paradise through a river of blood!"

"Bullshit ... " Kirk snapped.

Claire furrowed her brows and clicked on another file. Another video that seemed to show signs of improvement in its quality, obviously a sign that this was a video several years later. There was a laboratory filled with screens, digital images, life readouts, lights, data - - all shifting and collating onto the blinking screens.

And there she was. Elizabeth. Now a complete adult. She had her back to the doctors in coats, sitting with her legs crossed in the corner of her chambers. She was doing something the doctor's could not see, her hand moving up and down slowly and constantly.

"Spencer on his way?" Cameron asked, smiling with excitement.

The doctor he stood beside chuckled and nodded. "He's in the elevator now."

Cameron knocked on the glass. "Hey! Elizabeth!" he called, to her, "The boss is on his way, you had better be a bit more happier to see him than that!"

Elizabeth's hand suddenly stopped. She heaved slow, eerie breaths and just sat there, head hung. She did not respond. Cameron tsked and turned as the elevator sounded and the doors parted. Ozwell Spencer, a decrepit old man in wheelchair was ushered inside the laboratory by Sergei Vladimir. His two IVAN clones stood behind him.

"Where is she?" Spencer asked, smiling.

Cameron returned the smile and gestured to the glass. "This way."

Sergei seemed to have been just as excited to see Elizabeth as Spencer was. He pushed the CEO up toward the glass and knocked onto it just the slightest. Elizabeth did not budge, but she was gnawing her lower lip so much, a thin trail of darkened blood oozed down the length of her chin.

"Can she hear us?" Sergei asked, looking at Cameron.

The doctor sighed impatiently. "She can hear fine," he snapped, "She's being a bit moody today." He rapped his fist on the glass angrily. "Elizabeth, come say hello or you're going into the dark room again!"

After what seemed to be forever, Elizabeth slowly rose from her spot and walked up to them. She lifted her head and gazed at them with eyes full of hate. They flickered red and orange. Sergei and Spencer smiled at her, delighted with her beauty, that was obvious.

"Hello, Elizabeth, do you know who I am?" Spencer asked.

After a brief pause, Elizabeth slowly shook her head.

"I am Ozwell Spencer, your master," the man said, smiling that arrogant grin of his, "I am the one who allowed you to be born with that talent of yours. You are very special to me, Elizabeth. You have such a goal set for your life. Set by me. You will give this world a new order, what do you think of that?"

Elizabeth suddenly slammed her weight against the glass, screaming and shrieking venomously. She clawed at the glass, struggling to get to this weak human man and tear him to pieces. Cameron scowled angrily and raised a hand to a bright red button against the wall. He pressed it.

A suddenly discharge of electricity passed through the collars around Elizabeth's limbs and she screamed in pain, toppling to the floor in a heap. Spencer gasped and held out a single hand to the doctor.

"No!" he shouted, "Stop! I'm alright!"

Cameron nodded and pulled back on the button. Elizabeth lay there in a heap, panting heavily and continuing to glower at her audience with hatred.

Claire blinked at this and shut the laptop with one hand. She had her concerns for the motives behind her actions, but now she knew. They were no different from Albert Wesker's. The destruction of Umbrella. But why would she stop there? They had to do something.

"And it's no wonder she hates you!" she spat, "Look at what you did to her all those years!"

Cameron scoffed and shook his head. "Please, spare me your petty goody - goody speech," he sneered, "I have heard it all before."

Then, Chris and the others rushed into the room, toward the television in the corner. "Claire, Kirk, you have to see this!" he told them, "It's all over the headline news!" He turned the TV on and switched to the appropriate channel.

"What is it, Chris?" Claire asked.

Chris turned to her. "Someone got all info of Umbrella's BOW's and sent it in to the U.S. government!" he told her, smiling excitedly.

All ears turned to the TV and the anchorwoman who was making the announcement. She was standing in front of a courthouse.

"After the Raccoon City incident, the U.S. government issued an order for Umbrella to cease and desist all operations. Survivors of the incident presented their testimonies, but the lack of evidence, most of which had been wiped out in the eradication operation." She turned to a woman who stood beside her.

"The trial is the talk of the internet, and queries on popular search engines continue to make the top three list according to Sara, here. However, there are many who raise their eyebrows at your battle against the multinational corporation as carrying things too far. What is your opinion on this?"

The woman - - Sara nodded. She turned to the screen with a stern look of defiance in her eyes. It was rather obvious that she held disgust for Umbrella and all that it stood for. A woman who was a part of the anti - Umbrella group.

"Umbrella is not just another out-for-profit corporation; they are a powerful organization closely resembling an army or a country," she said, "We have no choice but to wage war this way on a company trying to cover up the truth. We have battled in court for almost half a decade now to reach a verdict against Umbrella, and we would do it again if given the choice."

The anchorwoman smiled, attempting to lighten the situation as anchors did. "So you're a lot like the David fighting the Goliath of Umbrella. However, now that a decision has been handed down, the problem is solved, right?" she asked.

Sara sighed and shook her head. The problem wasn't solved entirely. "One problem was solved, but some doubt still remains, and I feel it's too early to celebrate our victory." she told her.

"Doubt? And what doubt would that be?" the anchorwoman asked.

Chris and Claire smiled at Cameron. "Do you see what we were talking about?" Chris said, "There will always be people out to stop Umbrella."

Cameron just continued to smile, as if the idea did nothing to concern nor bother him in the slightest.

"There are two questions we need to ask ourselves. First, why is it that it has taken so long for evidence against Umbrella to appear? Why now? Second, why is the nature of that evidence still being concealed to this day?" Sara continued.

The anchorwoman chuckled softly. "There are a lot of popular theories flying around about that one."

Sara continued, gesturing toward the courthouse. "Take a look at the court records. It seems as if the evidence was data being stored on a computer. Umbrella must have been hiding it right to the very end," she explained, "The most likely reason none of this evidence has gone public is that it contains information that would incriminate many world governments, including our own. This evidence is also rumored to have been acquired from dealings with an anti-social organization."

"But Umbrella's gone," the anchorwoman argued, slightly, "Certainly that means the biggest menace is out of the way right?"

Sara shook her head. "Have the wrongdoings of Umbrella come to light? Certainly. But all of the data on virus production and biological weaponry has not." She took a brief pause and blinked sadly, as if something continued to bother her. "I don't feel the data has been erased, but that it has ended up in someone's hands, someone who will inherit Umbrella's dark legacy."

The anchorwoman just laughed gently at her worry. "Inheriting a dark legacy? That sounds like something out of a TV show."

Sara was silent for a moment, taking in what she had just remarked on. "It's easy to laugh and dismiss it as some movie of the week story. However, if there is any chance that such a possibility is true, it is worth our concern. Humans can be foolish creatures," she pointed out, "Even after witnessing the destructive might that wiped out an entire city, someone could still steal that power and try to use it to further their own ambitions, regardless of the price to be paid. Umbrella may only be the beginning of this nightmare. The mystery surrounding the court decision makes that much pretty obvious."

The anchorwoman was silent, surprised by her words and perhaps a bit wary of the meaning behind them. But nonetheless, she put on a professional facade once more and smiled into the news camera.

"And there you have it," she said, "Live from - - "

DeChant switched the TV off and turned to Cameron. "We believe there is significance to the young lady's words," he told the doctor, "And we also believe that your project can be killed. You are going to lead us to her."

Cameron stared at every face with a weak glimmer of unease.

Meanwhile

Albert Wesker sat alone in the darkness of his hideout, smiling into the various screens that lit up the room. He leaned back, crossing his legs and fingering with a small data disk. He chuckled softly at his victory. He had achieved the fall of Umbrella, and now he would achieve its rebirth. Under his hands.

"It begins ... " he said, softly.

O

Note-The interview was from one of the Resident Evil games. I can't remember offhand which one, though.